River Island ramps up international commerce with Rakuten LinkShare

River Island has recently launched its affiliate marketing campaign with leading global CPA (Cost Per Acquisition) network Rakuten LinkShare to reach online shoppers around the globe. Having had a presence on the British high street for over 60 years and with stores throughout Asia, the Middle East and Europe, the brand now embraces the international benefits of e-commerce with an affiliate marketing programme spanning the UK, US and Australia. This includes full integration with River Island’s multi-currency site.

River Island’s CPA programme, which will be managed by Biglight, will focus on working with fashion bloggers and publishers such as FashionBeans, rewardStyle and ShopStyle to offer discovery shopping experiences as well as style editorial, web exclusives and limited edition products.

The brand is working with trusted advisors at CPA network Rakuten LinkShare to promote digital content, editorial and creative video, as well as offering bloggers access to exclusive events, gifting and review opportunities.

Pop-up shop in Ibiza

The brand is already leading the way in exciting shopping experiences with a pop-up shop in Ibiza and interactive seasonal campaign videos. To further this multi-channel shopping environment the CPA programme will support River Island’s kids range for boys and girls aged 3-12, as well as its current fashion lines, Rihanna and Chelsea Girl. Its growing menswear offering will also be promoted. Furthermore, new products will be added to the programme each week as fresh trends are completed by the retailers’ in house design team.

Josie Roscop, Marketing Director at River Island said, “The online channel is increasingly valuable to international consumers who want to buy from brands outside their home country. We want to not only enable those shoppers to buy but also to make sure that the shopping experience they have is entertaining, personalised and exciting.”

Exclusive videos of Rihanna

Steve Borges, Co-founder of e-commerce agency Biglight commented, “We will be working with River Island to create exciting digital content to encourage consumers to click through and ultimately make a purchase. This will include exclusive videos of Rihanna, collections of the hottest items in each category and seasonal promotions. This digital content, partnered with Rakuten LinkShare’s network, will combine to create a compelling multi-channel offering.”

Alex Cornford, Director of Sales and Client Development, at Rakuten LinkShare commented: “British brands are experiencing a boom in popularity abroad and retailers are looking to tap into this through the online channel. A CPA network provides the opportunity for huge reach online while still being cost-effective as retailers only pay for sales the programme drives. With the right partnerships, River Island can expand their online audience on a global scale.”